Pepper Chicken Curry

Treating myself and Dad today with Pepper Chicken Curry. To me, i prefer the heat of pepper rather than the heat of any red chilli. As i feel even if you are burning your head by the heat of pepper, you will get to taste the other spices and that indirectly diverts your burning sensation, whilst the heat of red chilli just blows your head and you end up drinking lot of water rather than the actual food. So, i was about to make the usual chicken curry that is blood red in colour because of the amount of chilli i am ordered to add ( by dad), i thought of showing dad the correct way of enjoying the spices and the heat together :)
And so i cooked Pepper Chicken Curry.

All you need is :

Chicken - 250 gms ( cut into curry pieces)
Oil - 3 Tbsp

Onions – 1 Cup, sliced

Curry leaves – a handful

Cloves – 2tsp

Cinnamon – 2 tsp 2-3 no.

Garam masala powder - 1 tsp

Salt - as required 

water - 1 cup

For the Paste

Pepper corns – 5 tsp

Red chilli – 2 tsp

Coriander powder – 2 tsp

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Garlic – 8 cloves 

Method :

1. Make a fine paste of garlic, red chilli, cumin seeds, pepper corns and coriander powder, adding a little water.

2 . Heat oil in a separate pan and add curry leaves, cloves and cinnamon, finely sliced onions and sauté till golden brown. Add the paste. Fry till the oil separates. Now add the chicken

3. Add garam masala powder and water. Add salt as required. Close with the lid and simmer till the chicken is cooked and the gravy is thickened. 

Serve Hot with Chapati & Rice

Lemon Curd Tart

I recently got these small tart molds and I am pretty excited about it. I thought I should try out something today. I always wanted to make Lemon Curd Tarts.
Since mom is a Vegetarian, I had to make an egg less Lemon Curd. I searched a lot on the net, found some recipes, edited few things and finally made Lemon Curd. It is so easy and quick. And the tart was shared by a fellow Member of a popular Food group. Finally now i can make my favorite dessert anytime.

All you need :

For the Lemon Curd -

1 Tbsp Citric Acid
1 cup water
1 1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp milk
4 tbsp corn starch dissolved in 3 tbsp cold water
2 tbsp butter
2 drops yellow colour

For the Tart Shell

2 1/2 cups Maida ( 10 cm diameter mould, 4 no.)
A pinch of Salt
50 gms unsalted Butter

Method :

1.  Sieve the Maida and salt. Rub the butter in the Maida, using the tips of your fingers till you get a crumbly texture.
2. Add ice-cold water and knead well and cover using a cling film and refrigerate for 30 mins.
3. Mean while, in a heavy bottom pan, mix water and sugar over medium heat till the sugar dissolves. Add citric acid. Make a paste with cornflour/corn starch and add it to the water-sugar mix. Add a pinch of yellow colour. Now add butter and Milk. Mix well to avoid lumps. Switch of the gas and keep aside to cool down. Pre-heat the oven at 180 C.
4. Back to the Tart shell. Divide the dough into 4 balls. Roll out the dough into a 1/2 inch sheet and lay it over the greased mold. Keep the edges neat and remove any extra dough. Make sure you prick the tart shell before baking.
5. Bake the tart shells for 15- 20 mins. once baked remove them from the oven and leave to cool down.
6. After the tart shells have cooled down, ill it with the Lemon curd and garnish with Fresh Fruits or Candied Fruits and Mint Leaves.

Delicious and Easy Lemon Curd Tart, Ready!!

Shakshouka or Shakshuka

Shakshouka is a dish made with poached eggs on a base of tomato sauce, pepper, onions spiced with cumin. It is believed to be originated from Tunisia

All you need is :

2 Tbsp Vegetable oil
1 medium sized onion
1 small capsicum
1 Tbsp green chillies
5 cloves of garlic crushed finely
1/4 cup tomato puree
2 cups tomatoes finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp red chilli powder
Salt and Pepper to taste
Pinch of Sugar
2 eggs

Method :

1.Heat oil in a skillet. Add onions and sauté over medium heat until translucent. Add capsicum and green chilies and cook for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato and cook for 2-3 minutes.
2. Now add the tomato puree, red chilli powder, cumin powder, salt and pepper to taste and a pinch of sugar. Mix well and cook for 2 minutes. 3. Crack the eggs into the mixture. Cover and keep the flame on low and cook the eggs for exact 7-8 minutes.

Serve with a nice crusty bread.

Rasmalai

Mum and I always wanted to try out making Rasmalai at home. Never really dared to try it out, thinking we might not give justice to it. But finally today we made it a point, come what may, Truly Madly Deeply Kitchen will make Rasmalai. Tried all sorts of recipes, finally we fond out 2 and now we studied and combined both the recipes, so little bit of that and a little bit of this. and Voila!! guess what, we made it. These beauties have turned out excellent and as they say, better late than never. Now I'm sure, this recipe  is going to be a keeper.

All you need :

Ingredients :

For the Chenna

1. Milk : 500 ml (full fat Milk)
2. Lemon Juice : 2 Tsp
3. Vinegar : 1 Tsp
4. Cornflour : 2 Tsp

For the Syrup

1. Sugar : 1 cup
2. Water : 4 Cups

For the Ras/Masala Doodh/ Flavoured Milk

1. Milk : 300 ml
2. Sugar : 5 Tbsp
3. Kesar : 1 Tbsp
4. Cardamom : 2 Tsp
5. Almonds, Pistachios : 1 Tbsp


Method :

1. Boil the milk in a heavy bottom pan. Once it boils, add Lemon juice & Vinegar. Stir continuously till it curdles. Once the milk solids separate, drain it.

2. After you drain it, rinse it under cold water to remove any traces of Vinegar or Lemon juice. Keep it aside to cool down for 10 min.

3. Once the water has drained out completely, in a big plate take the chenna, add 2 Tsp of Cornflour and knead for exact 10 mins. Make sure you knead exactly for 10 min. this step is very crucial.

4. After kneading for 10 mins, roll them into small balls. this should make 10-16 balls.

5. While you are rolling out the balls, make the sugar syrup using, sugar & water. let it boil. Once the sugar syrup boils, add the chenna balls. cook for 20-25 mins or until the balls double in size.
TIP : After 25 mins, take one ball and drop it into cold fresh water, if it sinks that means its cooked. test all the balls and put them back in the Syrup. turn off the flame.
6. Meanwhile prepare the Ras/Masala Doodh/ Flavoured Milk. in a Heavy bottom pan, heat milk till it boils completely. Add Kesar, Cardamom and Almonds and Pistachios. Give it a good 20 mins boil or until the milk thickens.
7. Once thats done, remove it over the flame, and squeeze the chenna balls & drop them into the milk. Done not mix or use a spatula, as these balls are very delicate.
8. Refrigerate overnight or keep aside for 6 hrs.
9. Serve nice and chilled :)

French Beans in Coconut Masala

Simple French Beans in Spicy Coconut Masala

All you need :

1. French Beans 500 gms
2. Oil 2 Tbsp
3. Garlic 3-4 Cloves (Paste)
4. Jeera 1 Tsp
5. Haldi 1/2 tsp
6. Red chilli powder 2 tsp
7. Jaggery 1 Tbsp
8. Grated Coconut 1 Tbsp
9. Salt to taste
10. Coriander for garnish

Method :

1. Heat oil, add Jeera, Haldi Garlic paste and red chilli powder and immediately add french beans chopped finely.
2. Season with Salt. Cooked covered for 10 mins. Add grated jaggery cook for another 2-3 mins.
3. Drizzle over grated fresh coconut and garnish with Coriander. Serve hot with soft chapati

Roasted Vegetables

Quite,Comforting and a laid back Monday evening. Mum decides to make something different other than chapati-bhaji. I put my thinking cap on and decide to make something light and delicious. So here it is Roasted Vegetables.
All you need

2 Medium Sized Turnips. ( cut into fingers and boiled in salted water)
2 Carrots boiled
1 cup of French Beans
1 cup Cauli ( cut into florets)

For the dressing :

1 Tbsp Olive oil
2 cloves of Garlic
1 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp Cumin powder
1/2 tsp mixed Italian herbs
Salt and sugar to taste.

Method :

1. Cut the vegetables in desired sizes. Boil the turnips, carrots and Beans ONLY. Pre-heat the oven at 180˚c for 15 mins
2. Drain the vegetables and let them cool down completely. Meanwhile in a mortar and pestle pound Garlic, chilli flakes, cumin powder, mixed Italian Herbs, salt and sugar and drizzle in olive oil.
3. In a Oven Pan, drizzle some more oil to grease the pan, spread all the boiled vegetables and the Cauli and mix in the dressing. Give it a good mix. Use hands for best results.
4. Roast these veggies in the oven for 35 mins or until they turn nice and golden brown.

Serve Hot.!!

Potato Bhaji

When I was a kid, I used to travel to Mangalore with family and our bus used to stop at kamat restaurants for Breakfast. And the only dish i used eat everytime was Poori Bhaji. Simple deep fried pooris eaten with simple mashed Potato bhaji. A very simple affair but very filling and delicious.

All you need :

4-5 boiled and mashed Potatoes.
Oil 2 Tbsp
Jeera 1/2 tsp
Mustard seeds 1/2 tsp
Haldi 1 tsp
Methi Powder 1/2 tsp
Hing 1/2 tsp
White Urad dal 1 tsp
Curry leaves 1 tsp
Green Chilli 2-3 finely chopped
Onion 1 cup finely chopped
Salt and sugar to taste
Coriander for garnish.
Water: 4 Tbsp

Method :

In a veesel, heat oil, add jeera and mustard seeds. Let it splutter. Then add urad dal and curry leaves and green chilli. As the the urad dal roasts, add half of the chopped Onion and then add Haldi, Hing and methi powder, mix well and then add the rest of the onions.
Cook till the onion turns soft and translucent. Now add the mashed potatoes and mix well. If there are any big chunks of potatoes, mash it with the back of your spoon.
Add little water to bring everything together. Season with salt and sugar. Cook for 5 mins.
Serve hot with Garam Pooris or even Dosa.